New Rancho Cucamonga ordinance aims to increase walking and biking in the city

RANCHO CUCAMONGA--As leaders here envision a Rancho Cucamonga with more walking and biking throughout the city, council-members at their Wednesday meeting unanimously adopted a policy aimed at increasing those opportunities for residents.

Called the "Complete Streets Program," officials said the policy directs city transportation planners and engineers to consistently design streets "with all users in mind including drivers, public transportation riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists as well as older people, children, and people with disabilities."

"The intent is really to make the most complete safe multi-modal transportation opportunities for all community members, not just for automobiles," said Candyce Burnett, senior planner for Rancho Cucamonga. "Most streets are designed to accommodate vehicles. We want to make sure to accommodate all modes."

Ordinance No. 857 also enables city planners to formalize metrics intended to aid in obtaining grant funding for the work.

"It helps to bolster the whole approach to complete streets, and gives us more metrics so you can measure success," said Ruben Brambila, project manager for Healthy RC Kids. "We want to have a very robust metric system, and be able to identify all the works that we do, to formalize it and make sure that it continues to happen, and not just be a temporary thing."

City officials hope to improve access and mobility for all city street users by "improving safety through reducing conflict and encouraging non-motorized transportation and transit," according to a city report on the policy.

This year the city launched an informational campaign with billboards, posters and postcards encouraging pedestrians and bicyclists to be more watchful when crossing streets. Pavement markings with the logo of the campaign - called "Look, Look, Look" - were placed at key intersections.

The city also opened the Pacific Electric Trail, a pedestrian and biking trail that runs the length of the city east to west, on what had been an abandoned light rail line in the 20th century.